Salome Visaya is nothing and no one—at least, that’s what the Alliance want her to think.

A criminal organization that has trained her since childhood, the Alliance made her a creature of cunning and greed, and now offers Salome a shot at the con of a lifetime. All she has to do is
assume a secret identity, Rosalia d’Ilumias, and play the blushing bride-to-be.

And the target? King Vincent d’Allorias of the war-ravaged kingdom of Ilarya.

Three months of her life—three months to charm the King and the nobles, to weasel her way into his confidence, and to rob him and his treasury blind. It should be an easy job, the kind that she was born to play, but when a witch approaches her in the dark and awakens something inside her, everything changes.

The court is alive with demons made of shadows, and Salome might be the only one with power to save Ilarya—and the world—from the ancient forces that threaten them.

Kay Costales is an author and poet represented by Lesley Sabga of the Seymour Agency. She is based in Toronto, Ontario. Her poetry collection, the EMOTIONS series, is available now and her debut novel, When They Beckon, will be released by City Owl Press in late 2023. As a child of immigrants, it is important for her to always provide Filipino diaspora representation in her stories regardless of genre. You can usually find her constantly daydreaming about monsters, magic, and romance.

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